Will Recent State of the Union Address Change Employment Prospects for Unemployed?

This week a reader in The New York Post asked an interesting question relating to last week’s State of the Union Address.

Considering President Obama mentioned adopting hiring processes to prevent biases for the unemployed, will it really work?

Greg Giangrande, HR executive in the media industry, writes:

“Here’s the reality: The economy is improving, and the unemployment rate has been declining —but that’s of little solace to those still unemployed. But employers recognize the time it takes to find a new job has increased — and many also know that the cost-cutting required over the past few years has led to laying off talented staff.”

Giangrande is convinced there’s not a stigma to being unemployed and a bias against hiring. Consider this — although the unemployed may feel like there is a bias, when recruiters review resume after resume it’s not uncommon to see a stack of CVs with unemployment gaps immersed throughout the pile.

Although each unemployment situation is different and unique, he advises, “You must remain positive, craft a highly-targeted search and be persistent.”